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31 years ago, in 1978, the television program 60 Minutes put on an episode about the awful threat of "video piracy" to the movie industry. Featuring the MPAA's Jack Valenti, the episode focused on how the VCR was going to destroy the movie business because anyone could copy and watch a movie in the privacy of their own home. Of course, in retrospect, that episode is hilariously wrong. You would think that, given how wrong they got it thirty years ago on this particular subject, 60 Minutes would be a bit more careful taking on the same subject again. No...

Rush Limbaugh's tough criticisms of President Barack Obama on Fox News Sunday “broke” the White House's truce with Fox News, Bob Schieffer suggested during an interview with Obama's Senior Adviser, David Axelrod, on Face the Nation. After playing a clip of Limbaugh dismissing as “a photo-op” Obama's trip to Dover Air Force Base to witness returning casualties from Afghanistan and quoting Limbaugh's characterizations of Obama as “narcissistic,” “immature, inexperienced” and “in over his head,” Schieffer, seemingly referring to Limbaugh's remarks -- or, at least the decision by Fox News to feature Limbaugh on its Sunday interview show -- forwarded: Last...

After months of taking incoming fire from the prime-time stars of Fox News, the Obama White House is firing back, "FOX News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican party," said Anita Dunn, White House communications director. "If media is operating basically as a talk radio format, then that's one thing, and if it's operating as a news outlet, then that's another," Mr. Obama said. Last Sept. 20, the president went on every Sunday news show - except Chris Wallace's show on FOX. And on Thursday, the Treasury Department tried to exclude...

How long before we hear from Team Lightbringer that CBS isn't really a credible news organization? The latest bedtime story from the Obama administration was released today and, darn it, they just can't bring themselves to tell the truth. "Jobs saved" is no more measurable than "hugs hoped for" but when you have the smartest president in the history of EVER he's probably privy to some super-secret genius metrics that we Earth-bound beings couldn't handle. We're moving into new territory here. The formerly unquestioning MSM is showing signs of realizing that they might still need work one day after Barack...

When Katie Couric and the folks at CBS start doubting what the Administration says about how effective February's economic stimulus package was, you know President Obama is in trouble. "Well, Katie, that report is going to claim that the stimulus has already created or saved hundreds of thousands of jobs, but if the administration`s first effort at counting stimulus jobs is any guide, tomorrow`s numbers could be hard to believe."

Here is video of a CBS News report questioning the truthfulness of the number of jobs the White House is reporting that have been "saved or created" as a result of Obama's Stimulus Plan. CBS News reporter Chip Reid shows some shocking examples of jobs Obama's report claims were created, but turned out to be totally untrue. It calls into question the honesty of any numbers on the economy being put out by Obama's White House. CBS News might need to get ready for the "Fox News" treatment with reporting like this! . . . (VIDEO)

In August 2009, CBS News made a simple request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for public documents, e-mails and other materials CDC used to communicate to states the decision to stop testing individual cases of Novel H1N1, or “swine flu.” When the public affairs folks at CDC refused to produce the documents and quit responding to my queries altogether, I filed a formal Freedom of Information (FOI) request for the materials. Members of the news media are entitled to expedited access, which I requested, since this was for a pending news report and on an issue of...

A former Letterman writer claims Dave's show was a "hostile, sexually charged atmosphere" -- and "sexual politics" played a role in why she eventually quit the job. The woman making the claim is Nell Scovell -- who spent roughly 5 months working for Dave back in 1990. In an article for Vanity Fair, Scovell claims during her employment, she was well aware that Dave and other high-level male employees were having sexual relations with female staffers.

    Feinberg interviews turn networks against Obama administrationAP Photo/Kevin Wolf The Obama administration now claims it did not try to exclude Fox News from Thursday's round of network interviews with pay czar Ken Feinberg.   A treasury department spokesperson claimed, "There was no plot to exclude Fox News, and they had the same interview that their competitors did. Much ado about absolutely nothing".  Unfortunately for the Obama administration, four other networks are fully aware of the situation and have proof that the treasury department is lying.  Fox did have the same interview as their competitors, only because the other networks came...

There was a bit of development late today that maybe Fox was making the whole "they tried to exlude us from the Pay Czar interview" story up. But here, CBS confirms the story and states that the administration "crossed the line" when they tried to exclude Fox. Share and enjoy.

Dispatch from the Department of Pot-Meet-Kettle . . . Katie Couric has demanded "humility" from Wall Streeters making seven-figure incomes. This from a woman pulling down . . . eight figures [an estimated $15 million/year] from CBS while cementing the Evening News' caboose status. Couric made her hypocritical plea in her "Notebook" segment yesterday, commenting on Pres. Obama's pay czar's plan to cut compensation for employees of financial firms that have received bail-out bucks [emphasis added]:

TALK-SHOW host David Letterman has been recorded on tape having sex with a female staff member - and he is worried that the footage will eventually be leaked, it's reported today. Letterman, 62, recently admitted to having a series of sexual relationships with some of the women that work for him. The chat show host and a much-younger female co-worker have apparently been captured on a studio surveillance tape in a compromising position. “If the tape makes its way into the criminal case, it’ll explode his marriage to smithereens,” a source told the National Enquirer magazine.

Do the major media outlets in the U.S. have a liberal bias? Few questions evoke stronger opinions, and we cannot think of a more important question to which objective statistical techniques can lend their service. So far, the debate has largely been one of anecdotes (“How can CBS News be balanced when it calls Steve Forbes’ tax plan ‘wacky’?”) and untested theories (“if the news industry is a competitive market, then how can media outlets be systematically biased?”). Few studies provide an objective measure of the slant of news, and none has provided a way to link such a measure...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Metro Nashville Police Department is standing by its investigation into the deaths of former Titans' quarterback Steve McNair and girlfriend Sahel Kazemi after a national report case study out Monday raises questions about the murder-suicide. Metro police have maintained almost from the start that McNair was shot by 20-year-old Kazemi, who then turned the gun on herself. In a story aired Monday on CBS's The Early Show, reporter Armen Keteyian interviewed friends and a former boyfriend of Kazemi, who claimed they did not believe that she killed McNair and then herself. The report shows never before...

Even though Robi Boscarino lives a world away, the 17-year-old Australian still manages to tune into CBS' "NCIS" seven nights a week. Earlier this month, the Perth resident visited the hit crime procedural's sound stages in Valencia and caught his favorite character, DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), in action. "Back home, everybody likes him," said Boscarino, who has Hodgkin's lymphoma and whose big dream to visit the set was made possible by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "He's one of the most popular TV actors, for sure. This is more than I expected, to be honest. I didn't expect him to be like he...

As heard on Glenn Becks show today this is video of Anita Dunn discussing the tactics to be used in controlling the media and press. For Example: She talks about how they would use David Pluths videos to bypass having to talk to reporters. "We'd put those out and make them write what Pluth had said as opposed to Pluth doing an interview.." Here is the video Here is the video of Anita Dunn.

Back on October 7, when the Congressional Budget Office reported that the federal deficit had ballooned to a massive $1.4 trillion during President Obama’s first year on the job, Katie Couric’s CBS Evening News did not tell viewers. But Couric finally caught up to the bad news after the Obama White House put out its final numbers on Friday afternoon. Couric disclosed the news in a brief item on the October 16 Evening News that never mentioned Obama by name: “It’s the biggest IOU Uncle Sam has ever written. Government figures out today show for the last fiscal year, which...

Recently I revisited The Visual Craft of William Golden, a book published in the early-Sixties about the legendary CBS creative director. There is an essay in the book by CBS exec John Cowden that sheds light on Golden’s artistic integrity, and helps to explain why the advertising work created under his guidance remains to this day the strongest body of advertising ever created for a TV network. Golden’s world revolved around graphic design, illustration and advertising, but I find his experiences to be relevant to creative people working in any commercial field, and especially animation. For example, Cowden recounted how...

If there was any question which side of the ideological blogosphere a lot of the inside-the-beltway media establishment go to regularly, Politico may have just cleared that up. In an Oct. 11 Politico story headlined "Think Progress makes its mark," which was the top story on its Web site that evening, Daniel Libit paid reverence to the left-wing Center for American Progress' Think Progress blog. "Can a liberal blog launched in the midst of the Bush era - a blog that once obsessed over Alberto Gonzales, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove and the outing of Valerie Plame - still make its...

Legit broadcast journalism, so important yet nearly dead, last week took another hit when CBS News’ “48 Hours” presented an “exclusive” with the Gotti Family. Three days later, Victoria Gotti’s tell-all was released by Simon & Schuster, the publishing division of CBS.

The Marine Corps unit of a Lorain native killed in Afghanistan will be featured as part of a CBS News "60 Minutes" segment about the war there. USMC Lance Cpl. David R. Hall, 31, who was killed in action Aug. 31, was serving with a force that became part of the research for the "60 Minutes" program scheduled to run this Sunday. ...It appears the television crew has footage from Helmand Province, the same place where Hall spent his final days. The reporters were a kilometer away when a bomb took Hall's life and may have footage of the helicopter...

David Letterman's sensational sex scandal has triggered a $300 million divorce war between the 62-year-old talk-show host and his outraged wife Regina, say sources close to the star. The couple - who lived together for years before marrying March 19 - are fighting over everything from his extensive property holdings to custody of their son Harry, 6, according to insiders. "It's become a real battle," revealed a Late Show insider. "Regina is humiliated, and she wants to get even with David for his public admission he cheated on her repeatedly during their 23-year relationship." The ENQUIRER was told the kinky...

MIDI - BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL Working on the Late Show is a wonderful job, it's one I don't want to lose Dave told me there was just one way to advance...I had to do certain things I must be paying my dues So be nice to your boss or, girls, you may well get tossed Keep putting out more or you are out the door Be nice to your boss Got a "Letterman Jacket" 'cause of how I performed...Dave had a smile on his face He had been using us but I wondered what we would see...

Well, it's not the renowned and, as it turns out, downright horny host of CBS' "Late Night With David Letterman" show. It's probably Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, former vice-presidential candidate and current full-time mom who, back in June, showed Letterman the wrath of an angry mom. Letterman, who probably needs better joke writers as well as some kind of male chastity belt, wisecracked that New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez "knocked up" Palin's daughter during a seventh-inning stretch. Palin went ballistic, figuring Letterman was referring to her 14-year-old daughter Willow. Letterman countered by saying he was referring to...

Through a secret source at the show, I was able to get this before TMZ. Here is the official Letterman Jacket of The Late Show. It is only available through Dave and not included in the official CBS merchandise catalogue.

The National Organization for Women has sharply criticized comedian David Letterman, accusing him of promoting a hostile, uncomfortable work environment. "The latest Letterman controversy sheds new light on the widespread objectification of women in the workplace," NOW said in a statement Tuesday. "Most women can attest to the fact that many workplaces are plagued with inappropriate behavior by men in power." The "Late Show With David Letterman" host admitted last week on his CBS program that he had sex with unnamed employees and had testified about those liaisons before a New York grand jury as part of an alleged extortion...

Two weeks ago, we noted that CBS had been pinpointed by Audit Integrity as one of 10 big companies at risk of bankruptcy. This prompted an outraged denial by CBS. As the banking collapse illustrated, any time a company denies that it's about to go bankrupt, it makes sense to assume that the company is indeed about to go bankrupt--and then analyze the situation for yourself. We've now done that for CBS. Here's the bottom line: CBS is not on the verge of bankruptcy. The company is, however, highly leveraged, and its cash flows have been deteriorating rapidly. So if...

On Monday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith promoted a new book and documentary about a New York City couple that spent a year without modern amenities, such as toilet paper and electricity, to limit their impact on the environment: “This is an amazing saga....when the lights were switched back on, Colin and Michelle clearly saw a year that meant so much more than living without toilet paper.” Smith asked Colin and Michelle Beavan what their “inspiration” was, to which Colin replied: “Concern for the planet. I mean, we were reading so much about global warming happening and we were...

CBS has got to dump David Letterman. Right now. If the Tiffany Network continues to coddle the crotchety king of late night, it will rightly be known as the destination of choice for any girl who jiggles, giggles and puts out repeatedly for a man old enough to be her father. Dave must go. If not, CBS will have lost any remaining shred of credibility, not to mention common decency. By his own admission, the married Letterman has bedded any number of women working under His Highness. Problem is, he doesn't seem to know precisely how many. And brass has...

Long before Stephanie Birkitt was revealed as David Letterman's squeeze, the funnyman was known to surround himself with beautiful young staffers who ministered to his daily needs -- and favored women when it came to promotions. Holly Hester, who interned for Letterman in the early '90s while she was a student at NYU, said yesterday the two had a steamy, secret affair for a year. She said Letterman called her one day and asked her to the movies, and they soon began seeing each other on the sly. "I was madly in love with him at the time," Hester told...

MIDI - TAXMAN (click on arrow to download to your player) If you have sought a job with Dave...he's the sex man He'll tell you how you must behave...he's the sex man Yeah, Dave's the sex man...oh, my, he's the sex man Harassment is at CBS...he's the sex man Dave's really caused them quite a mess...he's the sex man Yeah, Dave's the sex man...oh, my, he's the sex man Be nice because he's your boss...or your job may soon be lost Out on your ear you'll be tossed...if you say "no" there's a cost Sex man (musical break) Yeah,...

Keeping quiet about an apparent extortion attempt against David Letterman and “The Late Show,” CBS worked over the weekend to stamp out unauthorized copies of the late-night host’s televised explanation. The network did not post official copies of the segment on CBS.com or on YouTube, proving that while media companies are now generally eager to distribute their material on the Web, there are still some TV moments they would rather not spread widely. In a remarkable 10-minute segment Thursday night, Mr. Letterman told viewers of a Connecticut man’s suspected $2 million extortion attempt, predicated on evidence of Mr. Letterman’s sexual...

Sources: ‘Late Show’ staffers were unaware of Letterman’s bombshell Fri Oct 2, 4:29 pm ET Much of the buzz around David Letterman’s late-night revelation keeps circling back to one question: Why was the studio audience laughing? Viewers who watched it on TV or online immediately took to Twitter to express everything from bewilderment to outrage over the audience's reaction. Shawn Ryan, creator of the FX show "The Shield," opined, "What a fascinating confession/comedy act from Letterman. Audience didn't know how to respond at parts." Another Twitter user going by the handle "Brain" stated, "Letterman audience clapped when he said he...

There is panic at Black Rock Last evening, at an executive-level party attended by some of the Senior Suits from CBS, (and others,) Letterman was the ONLY topic of conversation. There was clearly panic in the air. And old friend/fiend who was there said it was more delicious than the cold Hors’ Dourves and watered down Scotch. There was no concern for the moral implications of Letterman’s actions, of course. The big worry was about the huge cost of litigation from all the victims of Letterman’s slippery zipper. When the news of the trouble was first announced, there was about...

David Letterman, who built his career skewering philandering politicians and show business “weasels” and “boneheads,” finds himself in the middle of his own celebrity scandal, after he admitted having multiple affairs with employees of his production company, Worldwide Pants. For the intensely private Mr. Letterman, the revelations, which resulted from a bizarre extortion attempt, are sure to be extremely embarrassing, especially as he tries to extend his lead in the late-night contest. ”I have had sex with women who work for me on this show,” he told his audience on Thursday night, calling himself “creepy.” He added that he hoped...

A top CBS News producer was busted Thursday for trying to shake down David Letterman - threatening to expose the late-night funnyman's affairs with several female staffers in a movie and book. The "Late Show" host revealed the stunning plot on last night's show in an extraordinary confession to viewers - and admitted he had indeed slept with several women who work at the show. "I'm glad you folks are here tonight, and I'm glad you folks are in such a pleasant mood, because I have a story I'd like to tell you and the home viewers as well," he...

"David Letterman told the audience of his late night talk show that he had sexual relationships with female members of his staff, and added he forked over a bogus $2 million check as part of an extortion plot on the matter." Click for more

Unbelievable ... his lawsuit is in appeal, and "he's a long way from being done yet." He's discounting any partisanship regarding this. Claimsng Viacom/CBS shut down the whole thing, and powerful political and corporate forces are controlling the news.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York state appeals court on Tuesday dismissed former TV newsman Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS Corp in which Rather claimed he was made a scapegoat in a scandal over a 2004 report on then-President George W. Bush's military record. The ruling by a panel of judges of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division said Rather's $70 million complaint should be dismissed in its entirety and that a lower court erred in denying CBS's motion to throw out the lawsuit. CBS said it considered the legal fight "effectively over" and put an end...

Bad news for Dan Rather: His $70 million lawsuit against CBS is no more. In a 19-page decision made public Tuesday, a state appeals court dismissed the legendary newsman's suit against CBS. Rather, 77, sued the Tiffany network in 2007 after his career at CBS collapsed in the wake of a "60 Minutes II" report about former President George W.Bush's Vietnam-era military service. The folksy newsman accused CBS executives of caving to Republican interests, coercing him into a public apology after the controversial report aired in September 2004. The report claimed "high-level political influence" kept Bush out of combat by...

More than two years after Dan Rather filed a $70-million lawsuit against CBS for breach of contract and fraud, a New York Supreme Court appellate division has tossed out his claim. The ruling, handed down today, dismissed Rather's claims that CBS News broke his contract and committed fraud by sidelining him in the wake of a controversial story he reported about President George W. Bush's Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air Guard. The anchor alleged that CBS sought to curtail reporting on the story because of pressure from its then-parent company, Viacom. But in its ruling, the appeals panel found...

High ratings drama Monday night with a deluge of broadcast network premieres: >> Fox won the opening night of the fall season for the first time in the network's history. The network aired the two-hour return of "House" (16.5 million viewers, 6.5 preliminary adults 18-49 rating), the medical drama climbing 14% from last year while most of its competitors declined. >> CBS placed second in the key adult demo with its comedy block and "CSI: Miami" (13.7 million, 4.3). "Miami" was down 17%, though still beat ABC and NBC at 10 p.m. combined. "Big Bang Theory" (12.8 million, 4.6), however,...

A New York judge on Monday rejected CBS Corp's bid to dismiss former TV news anchor Dan Rather's $70 million lawsuit claiming he was fired over a controversial election-year report on former President George W. Bush's Vietnam War-era military service. New York State Supreme Court Justice Ira Gammerman set a December 22 hearing in the case and directed that testimony be taken from witnesses, including Sumner Redstone, the chairman of Viacom Inc, which controlled CBS at the time. "Let's get this case moving," Gammerman said. "I would really like to get this case ready for trial." Rather, 77, sued CBS,...

President Barack Obama talks with host David Letterman during a break at a taping of CBS The Late Show with David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, Monday, Sept. 21, 2009.

For much of 2008, the TV cognoscenti assumed that Katie Couric would be anywhere but in the “CBS Evening News” anchor chair by now But despite some of the lowest ratings in the newscast’s history, she says she will remain there until her contract expires in 2011. Borrowing from Mark Twain, she said cheerfully in a recent interview, “I think reports of my death were greatly exaggerated.”

Everything you needed to know about the unorthodox roll out of the now-notorious ACORN sting videos was hidden in plain sight in my Sept. 7 column, “Katie Couric, Look in the Mirror.” ACORN was not the only target of those videos; so were Katie, Brian, Charlie and every other mainstream media pooh-bah. They were not going to report this blockbuster unless they were forced to. And they were. What’s more, it ain’t over yet. Not every hint I dropped in that piece about what was to come has played itself out yet.Stay tuned. When filmmaker and provocateur James O’Keefe came...

This video was released on the CBSNews website of the interview tomorrow, Obama has a little problem with the 24 hour news cycle and blogs, yes blogs, remember he wanted to ram this thing through without debate...

Trying to boost the rationale for ObamaCare, Thursday's CBS Evening News ran two stories from far-left sources, but the network disguised the agenda behind both. Katie Couric announced that “while the debate goes on over the cost of insuring everyone, a new study reveals the cost of not doing it. The Harvard study says nearly 45,000 American deaths every year are linked to a lack of insurance.” Neither she, nor reporter Jim Axelrod, noted that the report was really produced by Physicians for a National Health Program, “the only national physician organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to implementing...

Since when is a political agenda promoted like a feature film?! President Obama is continuing his media tour to state his case on revitalizing healthcare with appearances on Meet the Press, This Week, Face the Nation, State of the Union AND Late Show with David Letterman which he'll stop by on Monday. One of these things is not like the other!

On Sunday, CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer praised President Obama’s recent media blitz for health care reform: "There’s no question he is the best salesman on the staff," but wondered: "Does he run the risk of overexposing himself?" Politco.com’s Roger Simon dispelled that fear: "It is a risk, but he keeps topping himself." Simon elaborated on Obama’s oratory skill: "Every time you think this guy can’t give another speech that’s better than the last one, he gives another speech that’s better than the last one. And he’s achieving his purpose." He added that the President’s address to Congress...